Chrysanthemum plant named Light Falma

ABSTRACT

A Chrysanthemum plant named Light Falma particularly characterized by its flat capitulum form; decorative capitulum type; light-orange ray floret color; diameter across face of capitulum of 60 to 70 mm when fully opened, when grown as single stem cut mum; photoperiodic flowering response of 65 to 68 days to short days in Bogota, Colombia, under temperatures of minimum 6.3 degrees Celsius night and maximum 29 degrees Celsius day; plant height, with 14 long days prior to start of short days, ranges from 102 to 117 cm; peduncle length of the first lateral at flowering after removing the apical bud ranges from 8 to 10 cm; peduncle length of the fourth lateral ranges from 13 to 20 cm; and excellent tolerance to low night temperatures for bud initiation and flower development.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar ofChrysanthemum, botanically known as Dendranthema grandiflora, andreferred to by the cultivar name Light Falma.

Light Falma, idenified as 3297 (81-795D30), is a product of a mutationinduction program. The new cultivar was discovered and selected byCornelis P. VandenBerg in September, 1988, in a controlled environmentin Salinas, Calif., as one flowering plant within a flowering blockestablished as rooted cuttings from stock plants which had been exposedas unrooted cuttings to an X-ray source of 1500 rads in Fort Myers,Fla., in March, 1988. The irradiated parent cultivar was the cultivaridentified as Falma, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 5,996, anddescribed as a cut spray mum with a flat capitulum form; a decorativecapitulum type; an orange-bronze ray floret color; a diameter ofcapitulum of 60 to 70 mm when fully open; a flowering response time of49 to 58 days to short days when grown in Salinas, Calif. and of 63 to68 days when grown in Bogota, Colombia; a plant height of 89 to 104 cmwhen grown with 6 to 8 long days prior to start of short days inSalinas, Calif., and of 102 to 120 cm when grown with 14 to 15 long daysprior to start of short days in Bogota, Colombia; and excellenttolerance to low night temperatures for bud initiation and flowerdevelopment as shown in repeated testing in Bogota, Colombia, withaverage low night temperatures of 6.3 to 10 degrees Celsius inside thegreenhouse. The description of the parent Falma is based on floweringover many years in California and in Colombia, and has a wider range ofcharacteristics than disclosed in the Plant Patent for Falma, for whichthe descriptions of characteristics were based on considerably lessflowerings.

The irradiation program resulting in Light Falma had as its primaryobjective the expansion of color ranges of the parent cultivar Falma.The irradiation program comprised irradiating cuttings of the parentcultivar at irradiation levels of 1500, 1750 and 2000 rads. A total of1,202 cuttings harvested from a total of 225 irradiated plants wereplanted on Aug. 8, Jul. 25, and Jul. 18, 1988, respectively. Of these, 8initial selections were made, which selections were then revegetated andreflowered. Three consecutive flowerings in Salinas, Calif., resulted indiscarding 4 of the original 8 selections on Jun. 15, 1989. The 4remaining selections were repeatedly tested in Bogota, Colombia. Thesetests resulted in discarding 2 of the 4 remaining selections on Apr. 10,1990. Of the 2 remaining selections, 3297 (81-795D30) was finallyselected and identified as Light Falma, and 3212 (81-795B30) was finallyselected and designated as Dark Falma. A plant patent application in thename of applicant for Dark Falma is pending.

The first act of asexual reproduction of Light Falma was accomplishedwhen vegetative cuttings were taken from the initial selection inNovember, 1988, in a controlled environment in Salinas, Calif., bytechnicians working under supervision of Cornelis P. VandenBerg.

Horticultural examination of controlled flowerings of successiveplantings has shown that the unique combination of characteristics asherein disclosed for Light Falma are firmly fixed and are retainedthrough successive generations of asexual reproduction.

Light Falma has not been observed under all possible environmentalconditions. The phenotype may vary with variations in environment suchas temperature, light intensity and daylength, without, however, anyvariance in the genotype.

The following observations, measurements and comparisons describe plantsgrown in Bogota, Colombia, under greenhouse conditions which approximatethose generally used in commercial greenhouse practice. The low nighttemperature tolerance was determined in repeated flowerings in Bogota,Colombia, with an average minimum low night temperature inside thegreenhouse during our trials ranging from 6.3 to 10.0 degrees Celsius.Because of the importance of the parent cultivar Falma in Colombia, moreextensive testing was carried out in Colombia than in California, andthe traits listed below are based on the flowering trials in Bogota,Colombia.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined tobe basic characteristics of Light Falma, which, in combination,distinguish this Chrysanthemum as a new and distinct cultivar:

1. Flat capitulum form.

2. Decorative capitulum type.

3. Light-orange ray floret color.

4. Diameter across face of capitulum of 60 to 70 mm when fully opened,when grown as a single stem cut mum.

5. Photoperiodic flowering response of 65 to 68 short days in Bogota,Colombia, under temperatures of minimum 6.3 degrees Celsius night andmaximum 29 degrees Celsius day.

6. Plant height, with 14 long days prior to start of short days, rangesfrom 102 to 117 cm.

7. Peduncle length of the first lateral at flowering after removing theapical bud ranges from 8 to 10 cm; peduncle length of the fourth lateralranges from 13 to 20 cm.

8. Excellent tolerance to low night temperatures for bud initiation andflower development.

The accompanying color photographic drawing is a view of a single stemof Light Falma, with the colors being as nearly true as possible withillustrations of this type. Of the commercial cultivars known to theinventor, the most similar in comparison to Light Falma is the parentcultivar Falma. In most flowering trials all traits of Light Falma aresimilar to those of Falma, except for the ray floret color. The rayfloret of color of Light Falma is a significantly lighter orange-bronzethan the ray floret color of Falma. In one of our trials in Bogota,Colombia, Light Falma was 2.5 to 5 cm taller than Falma, and 2 to 3 daysslower in flowering response when compared with Falma, growing side byside. Also, at flowering time, frequently bract tissue is visible in thecenter of the flower, which has only rarely been seen in Falma.

In the following description color references are made to The RoyalHorticultural Society Colour Chart. The actual color of the ray floretsof Light Falma is not represented in The R.H.S. Colour Chart, and thevalues given are those believed closest to the actual color of the rayflorets. Color values were determined on plant material grown as asingle stem spray cut mum in Salinas, Calif., on Jun. 20, 1990.

Classification:

Botanical.--Dendranthema grandiflora cv. Light Falma.

Commercial.--Flat decorative spray cut mum.

INFLORESCENCE

A. Capitulum:

Form.--Flat.

Type.--Decorative.

Diameter across face.--60 to 70 mm when fully opened.

B. Corolla of ray florets:

Color (general tonality from a distance of three meters).--Light orange.

Color (upper surface).--Base 12A, overlaid with 169C.

Color (under surface).--Closest to 12A.

Shape.--Longitudinally straight. Cross-section concave, slightly ribbed.

C. Corolla of disc florets:

Color (mature).--17B.

Color (immature).--144C.

D. Reproductive organs:

Androecium.--Present on disc florets only; very few disc florets, 1 to6, barely visible in the mature flower; no pollen.

Gynoecium.--Present on both ray and disc florets.

PLANT

A. General appearance:

Height.--102 to 117 cm when grown in Bogota, Colombia as a single stemcut mum with 14 long days after planting rooted cuttings prior to startof short days, with no growth regulator applications.

B. Foliage:

Color (upper surface).--147A.

Color (under surface).--147B.

Shape.--Lobed and slightly serrated.

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct Chrysanthemum plant named Light Falma, asdescribed and illustrated.